News Analysis India

Tag: Operations

  • Ban on all international flights extended till 31 January 2021

    The government of India has extended the ban on international flights till 31 January 2021 due to the outbreak of Coronavirus spread across the world. This restriction will not apply to special flights and international air cargo operations. Aviation regulator DGCA gave this information on Wednesday. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said, “However, on a case-by-case basis, the competent authorities may allow flights for select routes.”

    Regular international passenger airline has been suspended from 23 March due to Corona virus epidemic. However, special international flights have been allowed to operate to certain countries since May under the Vande Bharat Abhiyan and “Air Bubble” arrangements. India has signed an “air bubble” agreement with 24 countries including the US, UK, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, Bhutan and France. The DGCA also said that this would not affect the operation of the cargo planes. On Wednesday, the Ministry of Aviation has extended the temporary ban on UK flights to 7 January 2021 in view of the strain of corona virus spreading in Britain.

  • UK Wants To Buy Cheap Drones In Wake Of Azerbaijan’s Victory In Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

    Following Azerbaijan’s victory over Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the United Kingdom’s military is expected to embark on a new armed drone programme. UK defence officials believe that Azerbaijan had used Turkish drones in the six-week war and their controversial use of technology was crucial in defeating the Armenians. Now, according to The Guardian, the UK defence officials said that Britain wanted to procure its own cheaper drones as part of the five-year defence review due to be unveiled early in 2021, despite warnings about the risks of the proliferation of deadly unmanned aircraft. 

    Previously, the UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace had said that the Turkish TB2 drones were an example of how unmanned aircraft were now “leading the way”. He said that the drones have been responsible for the destruction of hundreds of armoured vehicles and even air defence systems. However, it is also worth noting that there is reported video evidence that suggests the drones had also killed many people in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. 

    The TB2 drones, which are manufactured by Baykar Makina, cost around $1million to $2million. They are far less than the near $20 million per drone paid by the British military for a fleet of 16 high-end, next-generation Protector drones manufactured by US specialist General Atomics. The unmanned aircraft have a much shorter operating range of up to 150 km, however, they are able to loiter in the air for up to 24 hours. 

  • PM Modi will show 100th Farmers Rail today, this train will run between Maharashtra and West Bengal

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off 100th Kisan Rail from Sangola in Maharashtra to Shalimar in West Bengal, via video conferencing today at 4:30 pm.

    According to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the multi-commodity train service will carry vegetables such as cauliflower, capsicum, cabbage, drumsticks, chillies, onion, as well as fruits like grapes, oranges, pomegranate, banana, custard apple etc. Loading and unloading of perishable commodities will be permitted at all en route stoppages with no bar on size of the consignment. The Government of India has extended a subsidy of 50 per cent on transportation of fruits and vegetables.

    The first Kisan Rail was introduced from Devlali to Danapur on August 7 this year, which was extended up to Muzaffarpur. Its frequency was also increased from weekly to three days a week.

    Kisan Rail has been a “game-changer” in ensuring “fast transportation of agriculture produce” across the nation. It provides a “seamless” supply chain of perishable produce, as per the PMO.In another development, Modi will inaugurate also India’s first-ever driverless train operations on the Delhi Metro’s Magenta Line (Janakpuri West-Botanical Garden) on Monday at 11 am via video conferencing. He will launch the fully operational National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) services on the Airport Express Line as well in the same event.

  • Railways changed the operational time of these three more trains passing through Bilaspur

    Railways have changed the operating time of three more trains. Bhubaneswar-LTT bi-weekly Pooja special train will leave Bhubaneswar every Monday and Thursday at 7.20 pm and reach Cuttack at 07.50hrs, Jharsuguda Road at 13.39 hrs and Bilaspur at 16.55hrs. It will leave from here at 17.10. Lokmanya Tilak Terminal will reach Raipur, Gondia, Nagpur, Akola at 13.00 hours. The operating period has also been extended. The facility of this train will be available till January 2. It will run two general, four 04 AC-3, one AC-2, 11 sleeper coaches in this train.

    Similarly, 02866/02865 Puri – Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Puri will leave Khurdrod, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Dekanal, Jharsuguda and Raigad every Tuesday at 06.00 and reach Bilaspur at 16.55 pm. Its return time is 20.05 hrs to reach Bilaspur railway station. The operation of this train has been extended to 31 December. This train from LTT will leave every Thursday. 02827/02828 Puri – Surat weekly Puja special train has also been changed. This train will leave Puri every Sunday at 19.45.

  • Sri Lanka & India Bilateral Naval Exercise ‘SLINEX’ Concludes

    The annual Sri Lanka Navy – Indian Navy bilateral naval exercise popularly known as ‘SLINEX was held between in October 19 – 21 In the 8th edition of the naval exercise Sri Lanka Navy was represented by Sri Lanka Navy Ship (SLNS) ‘Gajabahu’ and ‘Sayura’ INS Kamorta and INS Kiltan with onboard helicopters also played their intended roles, augmenting this bilateral exercise SLINEX-2020 focused on enhancing inter-operability and exercising coordinated Maritime Interdiction OperationsThe naval exercise also focussed on creating a platform to share each other’s experiences for common good. The exercise also demonstrated a wide array of naval exercises which included cross deck flying by Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) onboard INS Kiltan with SLNS Gajabahu, Search and Rescue (SAR) at sea The entire exercise was carried out in a non-contact ‘at-sea-only’ atmosphere in view of the COVID – 19 pandemic.